Seal.



No. 637,898. Patented Nov. 28, I899. A. B. SCHOFIELD.

SEAL.

(Application filed Sept. 16, 1998.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT B. SCHOFIELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 637,898, dated November 28, 1899. Application filed September 16, 1898. Serial No. 691,080. (No model.)

T0 00% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT B. SCHOFIELD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Seals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to animprovement in seals, and more particularly to an improvement in car-seals of the shackle type.

In seals of the shackle type hitherto in use the strip of thin metal of which the seal is commonly composed has been so bent into looped form as to substantially conceal one part of the loop behind the other part, thereby rendering the extent of exposed surface capable of being practically used for receiving the seal-legend only about one-half the total surface of the strip. Furthermore, this structure has rendered it possible for persons who wish to commit depredations to break or cut the shackle at the back near the point where the two parts are sealed together and then tuck the end into position, so as to cause it to pass a hurried inspection. Furthermore, to insure a perfect inspection it has been necessary to turn the seal or twist it, so as to obtain a View of its back, particularly when a part of its legend was placed upon the back, and this turning and handling has had a tendency both to weaken the shackle and to inj ure the hands of the person handling it, because of the sharp and often ragged edges of the metal composing it.

The object of my present invention is to provide a seal which shall have an increased exposed surface subject to inspection without twisting the seal and which shall be so formed as to obviate the liability of passing inspection in case it has been tampered with, while at the same time requiring no increase in the amount of metal employed and no material increase in the cost of manufacture.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of the shackle-seal as it appears in use. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 3 is a view of the seal before it is folded into position for use. Fig. 4 is a view of a blank from which the strips which form the shackle may be cut, and Fig. 5 is a view showing a modified form of shackle-seal.

In the form of seal shown in Figs 1 and 2 the strip of sheet metal (denoted as a whole by A) is folded along a diagonal line a about midway of its length, so that the two branches a a of the folded strip will have a tendency to gradually separate from one another, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, while the ends of the strip, curved in the opposite directions, will when folded approach each other at a sharper angle, so as to finally bring the perforated tips 12 b into position overlapping each other to receive the sealrivet B. This arrangementexposes on the front of the shackle a legend-receiving surface extendingfrom the seal-rivet B to the line of fold aon one of the parts and nearly to the line of fold on the other part, thereby requiring no twisting or turning of the shackle in order to inspect it unless it be desirable to bring into use the reverse sides of the two branches a a and in this event an additional extent of legend-receiving surface will be obtained equal to that utilized on the front, thereby rendering it practicable to use substantially the entire opposite surfaces of the strip for inscription. Furthermore, the manner in which the perforated tips b bapproach each other to receive the seal-rivet B is such that any cutting or tearing of the parts in proximity to the seal or elsewhere will be plainly visible from the front and will catch the eye of the inspector even though the inspection be from any cause a hurried one.

The blank 0 (represented in Fig. 4) indicates one way in which the strips maybe successively cut from a sheet of metal with very little waste of metal.

In Fig. 5 the two parts of the shackle are given a double curve on each side of the fold, so as to cross one another before finally reaching the point where they are sealed. This form exposes less of the metal at the front than that shown in Fig. 1, but may be found practical in certain instances, and is introduced to show one of several obvious shapes other than the particular shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2 which the loop may take and yet expose nearly the entire extent of the two opposite surfaces of the strip.

The line of fold in Fig. 5 is denoted by a, the seaI-rivet by B, and the two parts ot the folded shackle by a a What I claim is- 5 A shackle-seal consisting of a flat, thin strip of metal having its branches curved edgewise in opposite directions and adapted to be folded together flatwise at a point intermediate of their ends whereby the front faces of the 7 10 branches maybe exposed and means for per- 

